Understanding Wren
by elswa
Summary: Wren isn't like most girls. And to be honest, Robin wasn't really expecting her to be. ROBINXOC


Just keep running.

They have to get tired eventually, right?

My feet carry me as far as I can go, but soon I grow tired, and I can't take it anymore. I come to a halt, and attempt to steady my breathing, to which I fail miserably. Waiting more than a few moments is too risky, so I begin to run again, however, this time I don't get very far. A boy about my age sticks his arm out and grabs me by my sleeve, pulling my into him aggressively. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" He shouts, and I squirm to get out of his grasp.

"Release me, you fool!" I shout, shoving myself away from him.

"Calm down, girl." He says, dropping my sleeve roughly. I take a big step away from him and pant heavily. I'm beyond exhausted. I must rest, no matter how much i try to avoid it, I know I must. "Why are you running? You're going to kill yourself if you don't catch your breath, you know."

I furrow my eyebrows and look at him. "Oh really? I had no idea." I spit sarcastically. "You don't even know why I was running, so shut your mouth. I don't want to hear it." I turn on my heel away from the teenager but am once again pulled back, this time by the collar of my shirt, nearly choking me to death.

"Listen here, runt," his breathing is heavy, as if he's agitated towards me from the way I was speaking to him. "I don't know where you come from, but around these parts, I make the rules. You ought to think twice about talking to me like that," I release myself from his grasp and study his features. His curly auburn hair is being covered for the most part by a black bowler hat. As for his face, his nose is hidden away by a black cloth, and his lips form a straight line across his face. His eyes are a dark brown, and by the looks of it, I can already tell he doesn't like me very much. "Alright?"

I don't say anything in reply, what am I supposed to say? Okay? Am I going to give this idiot the pleasure of knowing that he's gotten to me? I don't listen to anybody, I'm my own boss and that's the way I like it. "What's your name?" He asks, his tone still stern. Again, I don't say anything. He doesn't need to know my name, what good would that do? Knowing that I won't reply, he answers the question himself. "I'm Robin," holding out his hand for a formal introduction seems like a hard thing for him to do. His gaze is turned away from me and something tells me he thinks we got off on the wrong foot.

"Wren," I say, looking at his hand questioningly. I glance back up at him to find his gaze back on me. Then, all of a sudden, he drops his hand, giving up on trying to be nice to me. He gives me a sideways smile, and suddenly I feel very self conscious of my appearance. My gaze travels down to the dress I'm wearing, if you can even call it a dress. It's ripped to shreds and has stains everywhere, not to mention it's far too small for a sixteen year old girl to wear. But then again, I _have_ had it for years, so I suppose that was to be expected.

When I look back up at Robin, his eyes are set on my face. He seems to have taken into notice how dirty and old my dress looks, and how the amount of mud smeared across my cheeks hasn't been cleaned in at least a couple of weeks. "Robin!" A man calls off in the distance, and I feel very scared of who that is. Robin turns around to identify how far the figure is, and he turns back to me, licking his lips slightly before parting his lips to say something to me. "You could come back to my village to get cleaned up," I'm alarmed at his offer, and shake my head quickly, hoping that he accepts my answer and runs off. He bites his lip and turns on his heel, running off towards whom I assume is his father.

As the sun begins to set I watch his figure get smaller and smaller the further down he walks. However, I snap out of it, and remember why I was running in the first place. I begin to run again. I run as fast as I can, but the sun's just set, and soon night will fall, and I will have no where to sleep. My favorite part of the day is when I get to search for a tree where I can rest, or if I'm lucky, a cave that's not being occupied by anyone or anything. But the darkness comes all too quickly, and I'm forced to sleep on a tree branch. But, it's not anything I'm not used to. I have been living on my own for a matter of years. Climbing up the tree comes very easy to me, and as soon as I reach the top, I crash, because I'm far too tired to force my eyes open any longer.

When I awake it's early in the morning. The sun is just rising and the sky looks an orangey pink, a very beautiful sight to witness, if I do say so myself. I jump down from the tree swiftly, and decide it'd probably be best to find some food, or a place to live. Wandering into the forest isn't as worrying as it usually is. Since I'm now so used to looking for shelter I guess I'm not as scared, walking by myself, I mean. About an hour into my search I've come across a cave. It's opening is right above the ground, and that's followed by a fair amount of steps. I walk down the stairs, figuring someone else _must _be living here but it's still worth peeking into. Who knows, maybe a kind traveler will offer me a place to stay, or better yet, **some food.** Oh god, I haven't eaten in forever. I would settle for anything, even the smallest piece of the tinyest berry. Just _something _to settle my hunger.

I would say that's probably the hardest part about living on your own.

Not having food, and, the fact that I'm not old enough to get my own job. It wouldn't be having to move houses so often, or should I say, shacks, or caves. I admit to not having the best life, but I think of it this way, I have no parents to bother me, or tell me what to do. But then again...I do miss that.

I turn the knob on the door and enter the small cavern. "Whoa," I say to myself, admiring the things hanging on the walls, and dresses sitting on several chairs. I walk over to a blue, plaid dress, it has a wonderful collar and is a little casual, just the way I like it. It's probably the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. Other than the one I'm wearing, but I suppose it doesn't look very beautiful anymore. My hands graze over the nicely sewn sleeves and it's then I notice the embroidered **L **on the soft fabric. "You can have that one, if you like," a voice says to me, coming from behind me, right about where I entered. I turn around quickly and retract my hands from admiring the dress. I come face to face with a woman wearing a fancy red dress, and her hair is done up quite oddly, but I'm not one to judge. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know-" She cuts me off with a chuckle. "Oh, dear, it's quite all right." I smile at her kindly, happy that someone so nice happened to live here. "What is your name?" She walks over to me, picking up her dress so it doesn't drag along behind her.

I swallow, nervous. "Wren," I say quietly. She smiles at me, bringing my eyes back up to her.

"That's a beautiful name. I'm Loveday," my mouth curves up into a smile. I've never heard that name before. But then again, no one's ever heard of mine, anyway. So it's nice to meet someone who isn't as normal as everybody else. "You can have that dress, if you'd like it. I'd love to fit it to your preference." My lips part to reply, but I don't know what to say. No one's ever offered to give me anything before. She walks over to me, picking up the dress delicately and holding it over my frame. "I think that would look lovely on you! Go try it on." She hands it to me without thinking twice about it and I happily accept, but am unsure whether or not that's the correct way to respond. I mean, I'm sure she wants something for it, and I've no money. However, to be polite, I thank her and she shows me to the bathroom, where I will change into the beautiful garment and hope that it looks great.

When I'm finished changing I take a look in the mirror and gasp. I look like a completely different person. My dress is no longer white and wrinkly, with a rustic looking pattern. It's now a sheer light blue with silky sleeves and beautiful stitching. I smile at myself, drawing my hand down the ruffles of the garment. I exit the restroom and once I walk out Loveday's impressed and excited face is there to greet me. "Why, Wren, you look wonderful!" She says, holding her hands together, pressed to her heart.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid I have nothing to give you in return." She scoffs to herself, waving her hands in the air as if she's brushing it off. "You can have it, it's far too small for me, anyway." I smile, and turn towards the mirror on the back of the restroom door. My hands travel down the dress as I admire how beautiful it is.

"Thank you ever so much, Loveday." I say, looking at her through the glass. She smiles in reply, and together we sit in silence for a bit until she speaks up. "So, Wren, where are you from?"

"Just a village up north, I doubt you've heard of it." _Please don't ask questions._

"Oh, well, what brings you to Moonacre?" The two of us sit down on her sofa, which is a pale off-white color. Very modern looking-I think.

"My family travels a lot." I reply. _Please don't ask questions._

"Interesting." Silence. So much silence.

"Well," I pause, standing up. "I suppose I should get going."

"Yes, your parents will be wondering where you are." I nod, smiling at her one last time. "Thank you, again. For the dress and being so kind to me."

"Don't mention it, sweetheart. Come back anytime." And with that I left.

**A/N: Hope you guys like the first chapter! Make sure to R and R to encourage me to update soon! (:**


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